Executive Team
John Fitzpatrick
Executive Director
- jfitz@cftexas.org
John Fitzpatrick, Educate Texas' Executive Director, has an extensive history working with education. Before taking the helm at Educate Texas, Mr. Fitzpatrick served as Executive Director of the Capital Area Training Foundation, now Skillpoint Alliance, where he worked to build relationships between the business sector, educational interest groups, and community partners for the benefit of Central Texans. Concurrently, he held the position of Vice-President for Education and Workforce Development for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and also served as an elected member of the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees. He spent four years on Capitol Hill where he worked on education and workforce development policies for the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Mr. Fitzpatrick first began his career in education as a middle school teacher and coach. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and a master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at University of Texas-Austin.
George Tang
Chief Operating Officer
- gtang@cftexas.org
As Chief Operating Officer, George Tang ensures Educate Texas’ day-to-day operations align with its mission of preparing all Texas students to graduate from high school ready for college, career and life. Prior to joining Educate Texas, Mr. Tang co-founded Rosetta, an advertising agency fueled by an analytical approach to creating marketing strategies. In 2009, Mr. Tang returned to Dallas to focus on education, addressing the significant gaps and challenges currently stressing the education system. Mr. Tang earned a bachelor of science in finance and accounting from New York University.
Chris Coxon
Chief Program Officer
- ccoxon@cftexas.org
Chris Coxon currently serves as the Chief Program Officer for Educate Texas. Mr. Coxon previously served as the Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning for the Boston Public Schools. During his tenure, the Broad Prize for Urban Education recognized the district as a finalist for four consecutive years and then as the winner in 2006. Mr. Coxon has also served as a principal, district administrator, and teacher in Puerto Rico for the Department of Defense Education Activity and in Dallas where he began his teaching career. He has served on various educational boards at the state and national level and has presented at various conferences across the country. In 2000, Mr. Coxon was selected into the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard University. Mr. Coxon holds a bachelor’s degree from Benedictine College, a master’s degree in educational leadership from Phoenix University, and a master’s degree in administration, planning and social policy from Harvard University, where he is also a 2011 doctoral candidate.
Heather Zavadsky
Director of Research and Implementation
- hzavadsky@cftexas.org
Dr. Heather Zavadsky, Director of Research and Implementation for Educate Texas, has over fifteen years of experience in education research and practice, with a particular emphasis on urban education, district data and accountability systems, teacher quality, systemic district/school reform, and special education. Before coming to Educate Texas, Dr. Zavadsky was the Director of Policy at the University of Texas System Institute for Public School Initiatives. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in special education, a master’s degree in education administration, and a Ph.D. in educational administration with a specialization in educational policy and planning and recently published a book for Harvard Education Press entitled, Building School Reform to Scale: Five Exemplary Urban Districts.
Gene Acuna
Director of Advocacy and Communications
- gacuna@cftexas.org
Gene Acuña serves as Director of Advocacy and Communications for Educate Texas, bringing more than 25 years of journalism, government, public relations and communications experience to the position. A 1980 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Gene began a decade-long career as a television reporter where he specialized in covering statewide elected officials and politics, the Texas Legislature, and issues related to State government. After leaving the TV newsroom, he went on to direct the communication offices at various state agencies including the Office of the Secretary of State, the Texas Department of Agriculture, and the Texas Railroad Commission. Gene culminated his work in state government by serving two years as Deputy Press Secretary to Governor Rick Perry. His government experience also includes two years of service as the Director of Communications and Public Information for the City of Austin. In the private sector, Gene has worked for two influential public relations firms – Fleishman-Hillard and Hahn, Texas (formerly TateAustinHahn) – where he led successful public relations and public affairs campaigns for a variety of government and business clients.
Amy Groff
Chief Financial Officer
- agroff@cftexas.org
Amy Groff is Educate Texas’ Chief Financial Officer. Before joining the Educate Texas team, Ms. Groff served as Vice President of Finance and Administration for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for 23 years. Prior to joining the Symphony, she was with Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (formerly Coopers & Lybrand) leaving as a senior manager after seven years of employment. Ms. Groff serves on the Finance Committee for the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas County and as a board member on the Dallas Symphony Foundation Board. Ms. Groff graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in accounting.
Staff
Alejandra Barbosa
Operations and Program Manager
- abarbosa@cftexas.org
As the Operations and Program Manager, Alejandra Barbosa works to increase the overall productivity and effectiveness of the organization and assists in the management and implementation of Educate Texas' strategic initiatives. Ms. Barbosa brings private sector experience in the areas of finance, strategy and marketing from a variety of industries including energy, travel, and consumer goods from her previous roles as a management consultant with Boston Consulting Group and as a financial analyst with Southern California’s major energy company Edison International. Ms. Barbosa earned a bachelor’s degree in operations research and financial engineering from Princeton University and her master’s in business administration from Columbia University.
Jessica Bassett
Communications Associate
- jbassett@cftexas.org
Jessica Bassett is Educate Texas' Communications Associate with experience in public relations, public affairs, and government. Ms. Bassett previously worked in the Office of the Governor of Texas under Rick Perry in the Criminal Justice Division as a program specialist, grant manager. After which, she worked as a communications associate for the Austin-based public affairs firm, ROSS Communications. She is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in political science.
Mark Baxter
Associate Program Officer, Policy and Advocacy
- mbaxter@cftexas.org
Mark Baxter is Educate Texas' Associate Program Officer of Policy and Advocacy, responsible for managing relationships with appropriate external policy-related organizations, public sector Educate Texas partners and other third-party groups. Mr. Baxter’s prior experience includes work at the federal level as a congressional staffer on Capitol Hill and state policy work with the Council of Chief State School Officers and Data Quality Campaign. His understanding of the implications of education policy at the district, state and federal levels is key in Educate Texas' role as a statewide advocate for education reform. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a master's in public affairs from the LBJ School at University of Texas-Austin.
Dee Chambliss
Program Officer
- dchambliss@cftexas.org
Dee Chambliss is the T-STEM Academies Program Officer, and is a veteran educator with over twenty years of service in public and private education and state government. Prior to joining Educate Texas, Ms. Chambliss served the state of Mississippi as Assistant Secretary of State for Education and Publications, overseeing the publication and distribution of official state and agency documents and managing educational and training initiatives within the agency and between other state and national organizations. Ms. Chambliss is a graduate of Millsaps College where she received a bachelor’s in biology and secondary education, Jackson State University where she received a master’s degree in biology, secondary education and administration, and Delta State University where she received specialist degree in educational administration. Ms. Chambliss is currently working towards a doctoral degree and is completing her dissertation.
Denise Davis
Program Officer
- ddavis@cftexas.org
Denise Davis brings more than 25 years of experience in education to her position as the Associate Program Officer of Educate Texas' Early College High School Initiative. Dr. Davis has taught in both elementary and secondary schools, has served as assistant principal and dean of instruction at the secondary level and owned and operated her own private school for more than a decade. Dr. Davis holds a bachelor’s degree of science in elementary education from Texas A&M Commerce, a master’s in educational administration from the University of Texas Brownsville, and a doctorate of education in higher education from the University of North Texas.
Denise Devora
Program Officer
- ddevora@cftexas.org
Denise Devora, Associate Program Officer for the Educate Texas T-STEM initiative, has more than 14 years of higher education experience and has worked in the private and public sector of universities and colleges. Before joining Educate Texas, Ms. Devora worked as the Director of Dual Credit and Tech Prep and as the Early College High School Liaison for Mountain View College. As the Director of Dual Credit/Tech Prep, Ms. Devora was an integral part of forming the early college high school from implementation to the first graduating class. Ms. Devora’s final role at Mountain View College was to serve as Interim Dean of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences where she managed over 100 faculty, adjuncts and support staff to ensure compliance and coordination of college-wide efforts. Denise received her master’s degree in organizational management from University of Phoenix and her bachelor’s degree in speech communication and public relations from Texas State University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in education with a specialization in leadership for higher education from Capella University.
Kelty Garbee
Associate Program Officer
- kgarbee@cftexas.org
Kelty Garbee is the Associate Program Officer for Educate Texas' Teacher Effectiveness initiative. Before joining the Educate Texas, Ms. Garbee worked at the Texas Education Agency (TEA) where she served as the Early College High School Program Manager. In this capacity, she developed expertise in dual credit and P-16 partnerships and was responsible for creating a designation process that allows school districts and colleges to join the statewide network of Early College High Schools. Before working at TEA, Ms. Garbee served as Assistant Manager of Grants and Sponsorships in the Development Office at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Ms. Garbee earned a bachelor’s degree in English and Studies in Women and Gender from the University of Virginia and a master's in public affairs from the LBJ School at University of Texas-Austin. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in education administration with a specialization in higher education from University of Texas-Austin.
Alma Garcia
Program Officer
- agarcia@cftexas.org
Alma Garcia, with more than three decades experience in education from K-12 to higher education, offers a wealth of knowledge as the Program Officer for Educate Texas' Early College High School initiative. She started her career as a bilingual education teacher in the Brownsville Independent School District, where she went on to serve as an elementary and secondary school principal. She later joined the University of Texas at Brownsville, where, as an adjunct professor, she designed instructional methods courses for graduate and undergraduates students in secondary education programs, and later served as director of GEAR UP, a college awareness, readiness, enrollment and outreach program. She joined Educate Texas in 2004 and is among the foremost expert on dual enrollment, dual credit and early college high schools in the state. Ms. Garcia was instrumental in working with grantee high schools and institutions of higher learning in aligning their curriculum and building community support and with the Texas Education Agency on its new ECHS designation process. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Pan American University (now The University of Texas-Pan American) and has a master’s in educational administration from Stephen F. Austin University.
Julie Harris-Lawrence
Program Officer
- jhlawrence@cftexas.org
Julie Harris-Lawrence is Educate Texas' Teacher Effectiveness Program Officer and brings with her more than 25 years of educational instruction and leadership experience. Her strategic approach to building a successful program is reflected in her work as Director of Science and Math Partnerships for the Texas Education Agency. Ms. Harris has also held senior administrative positions at Texas Woman’s University, working as assistant director and curriculum director for ACES (Access to Careers in Engineering and Science) early college experience. She received her bachelor’s degree (Biology and Chemistry) from Texas Woman’s University as well as graduate work in education, reading, and molecular biology.
Melissa Henderson
Postsecondary Policy Analyst
- mhenderson@cftexas.org
Melissa Henderson is the Educate Texas Postsecondary Policy Analyst and brings with her eight years of experience in the Texas House, having served as legislative director for Rep. Patrick Rose. Throughout his four terms, she had primary responsibility for advising him on education - both P-12 and postsecondary - particularly in his capacity as a member of the House Higher Education Committee for three sessions. Ms. Henderson worked closely with institutions of higher education, House leadership and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on issues such as tuition and financial aid policy, top ten percent admissions policy reform, and creating student regent positions on the boards of regents of each public university system in the state. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University.
Susan Henderson
Program Manager
- shenderson@cftexas.org
Susan Henderson serves as the Program Manager for the Early College High School Professional Development Network. Before joining the Educate Texas team she was principal of the Berkner TSTEM Academy in Richardson ISD. It was due to the achievements of this academy that Susan sought a position at Educate Texas to expand her